Yahya Abdul-Mateen II On Black Manta's Revenge In 'Aquaman 2'

Black Manta is BACK

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures

We’re excited to see Yahya Abdul-Mateen II go full supervillain as a bigger, badder Black Manta obsessed with getting his revenge against the King of Atlantis in super-sized sequel Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom.

Having failed to defeat Aquaman (Jason Momoa) the first time, the powered-up menace “will stop at nothing to take Aquaman down once and for all,” per the official synopsis.

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures

“This time, he’s more formidable than ever before, wielding the power of the mythic Black Trident which unleashes an ancient and malevolent force.

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures

To defeat him, Aquaman will turn to his imprisoned brother Orm–the former King of Atlantis–to forge an unlikely alliance.

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures

Together, they must set aside their differences in order to protect their kingdom and save Aquaman’s family, and the world, from irreversible destruction.”

“What I like between this one and the first one is, you really do see the growth of Arthur,” said Wan in an interview with EW.

“He starts off as this kind of wanderer, and in the second one he finally has more of a direction of what he wants to do with his life.”

Check out the trailer below:

Directed by James Wan, the big, brawny blockbuster also stars Nicole Kidman, Patrick Wilson, and Amber Heard with Mateen II hamming it up as Aquaman’s arch nemesis hell-bent on destroying “everything he holds dear.”

Check out his featurette below:

“Black Manta is not just driven by hate. He’s driven by love–his father was killed by Aquaman who had an opportunity to show mercy but didn’t. This need for vengeance haunts him night and day… I’m excited about giving the audience something cool to see and I’m rooting for the villain,’ he added with a sly smile.

Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom splashes into theaters Dec. 22, 2023.